The trade is reporting that Robert Redford is prepping a film based on the fall of Abraham â€“ or rather, who was responsible for the prez taking his final breath. The historical drama “The Conspiratorâ€ will tell the story of Mary Surratt, the alleged conspirator of Abraham Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth.

James McAvoy is said to be top-of-the-list for one of the lead roles. No word if Redford himself will play a part in the flick.

Surratt’s is a compelling story, reminds the Risky Business Blog. A Washington D.C. boardinghouse owner who sympathized with the Confederates, she was supposedly part of the conspire to execute Lincoln, supplying Wilkes Booth and his partner in crime David Herold weapons at her tavern after the hired gun had shot the president at Ford’s Theater.

Surratt’s son John was also alleged to be part of the conspiracy. Mary Surratt was eventually convicted and hanged for conspiring to kill the president; her son went on the lam and eventually was put on trial but was never convicted, living until 1916.

â€™â€™The period immediately after the Lincoln assassination was considered extremely volatile, with the country on the cusp of again falling into civil war; that period will provide a backdrop to the Redford-helmed taleâ€™â€™, says the trade.

Aside from the probably-never-gonna-happen Spielberg-directed â€œLincolnâ€, Harrison Ford was attached to star in â€œManhuntâ€, a movie based on the hunt for John Wilkes Booth. Doesnâ€™t look like Bob Redford has to worry about either project.

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